malonic acid

American  

noun

Chemistry.

1. a white, crystalline, water-soluble, dibasic acid, C 3 H 4 O 4 , easily decomposed by heat: used chiefly as an intermediate in the synthesis of barbiturates.

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malonic acid British  

/ -ˈlɒn-, məˈləʊnɪk /

noun

1. another name for propanedioic acid

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malonic acid Scientific  

/ mə-lō′nĭk,-lŏn′ĭk /

1. A white crystalline acid derived from malic acid and used in making barbiturates. Chemical formula: C ₃ H ₄ O ₄ .

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Etymology

Origin of malonic acid

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

He figures that his product, malonic acid, has a market worth $250 million — small enough that there has not been too many thoughts about efficiency.

From New York Times • Dec. 27, 2016

Small piles of malonic acid, a white crystal in refined form, mark the way to a wall of deep freezers, where the champion strains await industrial vats.

From New York Times • Dec. 27, 2016

Lygos and other contemporary bio-based manufacturers benefit in particular from a tool called Crispr, which can snip into a sequence of DNA and insert desired features, like a propensity to create malonic acid.

From New York Times • Dec. 27, 2016

“This is like agile programming, but for biology,” said Eric Steen, a co-founder of Lygos, a start-up here creating yeasts that make malonic acid, an ingredient in fragrances commonly derived from cyanide.

From New York Times • Dec. 27, 2016

It liquefies at 7� C. It is an exceedingly reactive compound, combining with water to form malonic acid, with hydrogen chloride to form malonyl chloride, and with ammonia to form malonamide.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 3 "Capefigue" to "Carneades" by Various